A Longitudinal Study of the Use of a Collaboration Tool: A Breadth and Depth Analysis

In this paper we present both a broad and deep look at the use of a collaboration tool in the intelligence community. Through an experimental program, intelligence analysts are given the opportunity to explore and use tools to determine if the tools provide sufficient value to be certified and moved into the analytic work environment. The goal of this program is to bring advanced technologies to the intelligence community through research and experimentation. New tools are evaluated using a metrics based assessment. Tools that successfully pass these evaluations are then introduced on an experimental network. Analysts employed by the experimental program work along side analysts in the intelligence community and look for opportunities where the experimental tools could be useful in current analytic processes. These uses are also evaluated to determine the value of the tools in the analytic environment.